Lemon Buttermilk Bundt Cake

I love lemons. It’s no joke.If you ever asked me to make a list of my kitchen staples, lemons would be high on that list. You can almost always find a bag of them in my kitchen because they’re the ultimate flavor enhancer. Need to perk up some leftovers? Lemon is almost always my answer. It’s also one of my most favorite smells of all time. If only you could take a whiff of this cake…

This Memorial Day weekend I was waffling back and forth about what to make in the kitchen. I wanted to make a bunch of things to get ahead of schedule but then I felt extremely lazy and decided that I’d just throw in the towel and call it a holiday. So, I sat outside with a coffee and an older issue of Bon Appetit and I realized I had all of the ingredients to make this Lemon Buttermilk Bundt Cake. I find in these moments to just go forth and create. I have no will power when I see that I have all the ingredients in a recipe. MUST MAKE. NOW.

I made this cake for my in-laws. We planned to eat it for dessert but s’mores got in the way (who can resist?!). Instead it turned into a booze-fueled-late night-snacking cake and a morning picking-on-this-because-we’re-not-ready-to-eat-breakfast-but-we-still-want-something cake. It sat on the edge of the counter in my sister-in-law’s kitchen and slowly throughout the day it withered away, half piece by half piece. A slice is perfect with a scoop of ice cream or whipped cream & berries but it’s also good on its own…eaten without a plate en route to watching BBQ Pitmasters ALL DAY long (ahem, Casey). If you love lemon, then you’ll most certainly love this bundt. The glaze is simply the best.

And we’re off!

Ingredient gathering time!

First we zest. Think of it as calorie burning! Also, gather all the dry ingredients into a bowl.

Zest goes into sugar. Mix it up!

But gets introduced to the lemon sugar.

Make it fluffy. Add one egg at a time. MIX.

Incorporate the dry ingredients with the buttermilk. Alternate. Done.

Prepare a bundt cake pan. I used cooking spray. Now we put the batter in!

Ready for the oven!

And DONE.

Let it cool. Flip it out.

Time to make the glaze! Heat up peach jam with lemon juice. Reduce. You could also use apricot jam.

Strain the glaze.

Drizzle it on the cake.

A THING OF BEAUTY.

I added a few slices of lemon on top to make it extra pretty.

Served with a dollop of Greek yogurt & berries…it’s totally breakfast.

Preheat oven to 350°. Butter and flour Bundt pan; set aside. Whisk baking powder, salt, and 3 cups flour in a medium bowl. Combine sugar and lemon zest in a large bowl; using your fingertips, rub together until lemon sugar is well blended.

Add 1 cup butter to lemon sugar. Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat until mixture is light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating to blend between additions and occasionally scraping down sides and bottom of bowl with a rubber spatula, until mixture is light and very fluffy, about 4 minutes longer.

Combine preserves and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until glaze is reduced to 1/2 cup, 6-8 minutes. Strain glaze into a small pitcher or bowl; discard solids in strainer. Pour glaze over cooled cake and let sit for at least 10 minutes.

That Bundt is gorgeous! I love the cracked/split top (well, bottom, after inverting). Like a PERFECT loaf of banana bread would split..mmm, so good. And I just happen to have a ton of buttermilk on hand. I subscribe to Bon Appetit but totally missed this cake. Thank you for bringing it to life for me!

Lemon bundt cake is the best! Someone brought in a lemon bundt cake for their birthday to my work recently and I would’ve eaten the whole thing if nobody had been there to witness. This one looks delicious and perfect.

One of the most satisfying things in the world is flipping over your bundt pan and watching your cake plop out with those perfectly crisp ridges. It’s so beautiful – I vacillate between ‘get in my belly!’ and ‘get this in a display case!’ One of the least satisfying things? Cleaning out the grease and flour from all those ridges in the bundt pan. Also, Chrome’s spellcheck apparently doesn’t like the word bundt.

Ooo, looks yum…maybe I can make this as my study break. What do you think about putting a layer of strawberries/berries in general in the middle of the batter? Too much? I’m thinking of the Smitten Kitchen apple cake with the layer of apples in the middle and on top.

1. This cake looks dreamy. 2. I would totally eat this if I was drunk. Or sober, but vodka goes with everything. 3. I also adore the smell of lemons. When I lived in Taiwan, they were nearly impossible to find. Whenever I’d see proper lemons in a store, I’d gasp, then rush over to smell them, then promptly buy a bag. My husband recently bought us a baby lemon tree, and I really hope it survives to give me lemons in my backyard. You can come over and pick some.

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Hi Tracy,
after reading and printing the recipe I made the cake last weekend. I only used 4 lemons and added a lemon glaze on top instead of an apricot one. It was delicious. My friends loved it as well. Thanks for the inspiration.